Month: June 2011

JUPITER — A Scripps Florida cancer researcher has been barred from receiving federal research grants for three years because, investigators say, he published bogus data in scientific journals before he joined Scripps.

Philippe Bois, 40, an assistant professor in the department of cancer biology at Scripps Florida, “knowingly and intentionally falsified data” that appeared in articles in 2005 in The Journal of Cell Biology and Molecular and Cellular Biology, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Research Integrity said last week .

A finding of research misconduct can lead to disciplinary action by a scientist’s employer and suspension of federal grants, NIH said. Scripps wouldn’t say whether any action has been taken against Bois.

Two others prepare for trial

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida— Four activists with Everglades Earth First! (EEF!) attended a court hearing May 18, 2011, related to the treesits in an ongoing campaign to stop the expansion of Scripps Biotech facilities into the Briger forest.

Two of the four, Brandon Block and Courtney Claar, have had their charges dropped.

The others, Russell McSpadden, a current editor with the Earth First! Journal, and Rachel Kijewski, a climb trainer with Everglades Earth First!, were offered a plea deal barring them from the property and requiring psychiatric evaluations. They are preparing for trial. According to the affidavits from their arrest, a Joint Terrorism Task Force agent is involved in the case.